Categories > Anime/Manga > Death Note > Shinigami: Death of the Old World
Shinigami Realm, CE 1527
Moloch lifted one of the rocks out the floor of his workshop and laid it aside, revealing the pit where’d he’d stowed the weapons that Geoffrey had made before he had died. Moloch tried not to laugh out loud as he dropped the last of the knives in…he didn’t want anyone else in the tower to come poking around, curious. He had enough weapons for every shinigami on his side…and he finally had enough shinigami on his side to pull it off. It had taken a lot of work, convincing so many shinigami that Shoboro was to blame for everything that had gone wrong, but when you couldn’t rely on facts, manipulating other’s emotions usually worked. “If he really cared about you and your family, do you really think you’d still be stuck down here, in this dungeon? I would’ve thought you’d have a home by now…” “I’m so sorry…I heard about your son…it’s a shame that even with all the power we’ve given him, the King hasn’t been able to do anything about it…”
Ah, it was good to be back in his realm…soon, Shoboro was going to get what was coming to him. Moloch would finally begin his reign as King…the thought of it made him giddy with happiness. He felt indestructible, powerful as the vents that dictated the realm’s climate…Moloch, the conqueror. Moloch, the King. The feeling didn’t dissipate as he slid the rock back into place, and it flew along with him when he jumped out of a window and started toward home…it would be good to be home, too. Well, not exactly ‘to be home’…he didn’t care about the rock, and he wouldn’t be living in it much longer, anyhow. What he was really looking forward to was seeing her again…the female shinigami who would soon be queen…who’d stuck with him, even though his plans had taken him away so often, supported his every ambition, and never complained about it…
Arva never complained about anything, ever, actually…she was the most good-humoured shinigami he’d ever met, hands down. Not once in their nearly two hundred years together had he ever seen her frown…nothing fazed her, and nothing knocked that permanent smile off her face. She was good for him, in that way…she balanced him out, he supposed. As a future King, he had no choice but to take everything seriously…Arva took nothing seriously…whenever he got too serious, too stressed, all he had to do was watch her for a moment or two. To her, life was simply one giant game, and changes were neither good nor bad; they were merely new and entertaining. He could still remember her response when he’d told her he’d wanted to become King of a realm, even if it meant they’d have to leave so much behind, would never be able to return…without even batting an eye, she’d replied, “Okay, love. I’m game…sounds like an adventure!”
It didn’t take much flying to get home, and it wasn’t hard to miss, either. The rock jutted out of the ground, far above the ice-covered spikes that surrounded it, and there was a wedge-shaped ledge that stretched across its top. Moloch floated down toward the ledge, and as he did, a shinigami came into view…a slender, long-limbed one; covered in leather, with blue skin and long, dark hair…she was waiting, there on the ledge…
“Arva!”
“Moloch!”
He knew what was coming next, and he was ready to catch her when she sprang into his arms.
“I missed you!”
“I missed you too, love.”
“Is this just a quick visit, before you head back to wherever it is you’ve been?”
She hadn’t know that he’d been in the human world, or what he’d been doing…when she’d asked, he’d said it was a surprise, and she’d left it at that.
“No, I’m back for good…and in a few hours, I promise to tell you all about where I’ve been…your surprise will be ready, then…”
She giggled. “Darn it…now I’m curious…”
“How are the children?”
“They’re fine…although I wish you’d been around to help Keichi with her math. She’s trying to learn some things beyond the basics of just lifespan manipulation, and you know I’m no good at that sort of thing…but I’ve managed all right with Dornes. He knows almost all of his letters now. As for the egg…it’s doing fine, but it’s still too early to tell if it’s a male or a female. Given any thought to names?”
Moloch laughed as he put her back down. “I’m sure whatever you come up with will be just fine.”
“I was thinking Necca, if it’s a female…”
Oh, there she went again...she could talk about those children for hours…they kept her amused to no end, they did. He didn’t mind listening, though…they really were a laugh sometimes, and they kept her happy…yes, if anyone deserved the results of what would come in just a few hours, she did…
“F,” Fedor guessed.
“Nope,” Justin said as he drew the last leg on the stick human. “I win.”
“W-wha…,” Fedor yawned, “what was it?”
Justin filled in the empty blanks and held it at an angle, so the flames flickering around the main room of the cave lit up the page.
“…Zqmqxlulzl? What the heck’s a…zqmqxlulzl?”
“I dunno. I just made it up.”
Fedor punched Justin in the arm. It didn’t hurt at all…Fedor looked half-asleep, and the punch reflected it.
“Cheater.”
Justin rubbed at his eyes, and punched Fedor back…just as sleepily, if not more. “When did we say that it has to be a real word? And it might even be a real word, too…we just haven’t learned it yet…”
Armonia smiled as she scooped them up. “Okay, you two…time for…”
She jumped as the door crashed open with a bang that resounded off the walls; Justin and Fedor were nearly jarred out of her hands. Xithl dropped down through the hole, and slammed the door shut again.
“W…Welcome home, dear…what…?”
“I need to talk to you. Right now. Put them down for a minute.”
Fedor and Justin were wide awake, now. Dad didn’t get scared…he just didn’t…that had to be some other look on his face; there had to be some other reason that he was whispering in Mom’s ear. She looked confused, at first…but then the same look on Dad’s face came onto hers…
“No…” she whispered.
Dad kept whispering, too low for them to hear…
“Justin?” said Fedor.
“Shhh…” said Justin, straining his ears to hear.
“No…how did you…when?”
“Soon. Very soon…while all the young shinigami are sleeping, most likely…”
There was a long look between them.
“So…we…”
“Yes. We’re meeting in those tunnels I sometimes take Justin and Fedor to for writing practice, before we…”
Another long look…then Dad took Mom’s hand, and led her toward the twins.
“What’s going on, Dad?” Fedor asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Come on, you two…bedtime.”
Somehow, Justin knew that this wasn’t a time to argue…he didn’t complain as Dad picked him up, or when he was set in the basket beside Fedor and covered with the blanket.
“Now, boys…” said Dad, smiling. Justin was probably just imagining the note of worry behind his voice…he’d said himself that there was nothing to worry about. Even if there was something wrong…which there wasn’t, there couldn’t be…Dad could take care of it. He could take care of anything. “We might be gone for…a little while. There’s extra wood by the fire if it starts to get low, and there’s extra food by the fire, too…take care of each other. Keep writing in your death notes…while we’re gone, you two need to keep trying to kill humans. I want you to help Fedor with that, okay, Justin?”
It occurred to Justin to complain, but…
“Okay,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Mom bent over and wrapped one arm around each of them. “Listen to your father…take care of yourselves, and each other. We love you.”
“We love you too, Mom,” Fedor muttered.
Mom let go. Dad gave them another of those long looks, as though he was trying to memorize their faces…he patted them on their heads, and with that, they went down the stairs…the sound of a sliding door opening, then closing, echoed up the stairs…they were gone. Justin and Fedor stared after them for a long time…they couldn’t sleep, not with this eerie quiet that filled the darkness in the room…
Moloch lifted one of the rocks out the floor of his workshop and laid it aside, revealing the pit where’d he’d stowed the weapons that Geoffrey had made before he had died. Moloch tried not to laugh out loud as he dropped the last of the knives in…he didn’t want anyone else in the tower to come poking around, curious. He had enough weapons for every shinigami on his side…and he finally had enough shinigami on his side to pull it off. It had taken a lot of work, convincing so many shinigami that Shoboro was to blame for everything that had gone wrong, but when you couldn’t rely on facts, manipulating other’s emotions usually worked. “If he really cared about you and your family, do you really think you’d still be stuck down here, in this dungeon? I would’ve thought you’d have a home by now…” “I’m so sorry…I heard about your son…it’s a shame that even with all the power we’ve given him, the King hasn’t been able to do anything about it…”
Ah, it was good to be back in his realm…soon, Shoboro was going to get what was coming to him. Moloch would finally begin his reign as King…the thought of it made him giddy with happiness. He felt indestructible, powerful as the vents that dictated the realm’s climate…Moloch, the conqueror. Moloch, the King. The feeling didn’t dissipate as he slid the rock back into place, and it flew along with him when he jumped out of a window and started toward home…it would be good to be home, too. Well, not exactly ‘to be home’…he didn’t care about the rock, and he wouldn’t be living in it much longer, anyhow. What he was really looking forward to was seeing her again…the female shinigami who would soon be queen…who’d stuck with him, even though his plans had taken him away so often, supported his every ambition, and never complained about it…
Arva never complained about anything, ever, actually…she was the most good-humoured shinigami he’d ever met, hands down. Not once in their nearly two hundred years together had he ever seen her frown…nothing fazed her, and nothing knocked that permanent smile off her face. She was good for him, in that way…she balanced him out, he supposed. As a future King, he had no choice but to take everything seriously…Arva took nothing seriously…whenever he got too serious, too stressed, all he had to do was watch her for a moment or two. To her, life was simply one giant game, and changes were neither good nor bad; they were merely new and entertaining. He could still remember her response when he’d told her he’d wanted to become King of a realm, even if it meant they’d have to leave so much behind, would never be able to return…without even batting an eye, she’d replied, “Okay, love. I’m game…sounds like an adventure!”
It didn’t take much flying to get home, and it wasn’t hard to miss, either. The rock jutted out of the ground, far above the ice-covered spikes that surrounded it, and there was a wedge-shaped ledge that stretched across its top. Moloch floated down toward the ledge, and as he did, a shinigami came into view…a slender, long-limbed one; covered in leather, with blue skin and long, dark hair…she was waiting, there on the ledge…
“Arva!”
“Moloch!”
He knew what was coming next, and he was ready to catch her when she sprang into his arms.
“I missed you!”
“I missed you too, love.”
“Is this just a quick visit, before you head back to wherever it is you’ve been?”
She hadn’t know that he’d been in the human world, or what he’d been doing…when she’d asked, he’d said it was a surprise, and she’d left it at that.
“No, I’m back for good…and in a few hours, I promise to tell you all about where I’ve been…your surprise will be ready, then…”
She giggled. “Darn it…now I’m curious…”
“How are the children?”
“They’re fine…although I wish you’d been around to help Keichi with her math. She’s trying to learn some things beyond the basics of just lifespan manipulation, and you know I’m no good at that sort of thing…but I’ve managed all right with Dornes. He knows almost all of his letters now. As for the egg…it’s doing fine, but it’s still too early to tell if it’s a male or a female. Given any thought to names?”
Moloch laughed as he put her back down. “I’m sure whatever you come up with will be just fine.”
“I was thinking Necca, if it’s a female…”
Oh, there she went again...she could talk about those children for hours…they kept her amused to no end, they did. He didn’t mind listening, though…they really were a laugh sometimes, and they kept her happy…yes, if anyone deserved the results of what would come in just a few hours, she did…
“F,” Fedor guessed.
“Nope,” Justin said as he drew the last leg on the stick human. “I win.”
“W-wha…,” Fedor yawned, “what was it?”
Justin filled in the empty blanks and held it at an angle, so the flames flickering around the main room of the cave lit up the page.
“…Zqmqxlulzl? What the heck’s a…zqmqxlulzl?”
“I dunno. I just made it up.”
Fedor punched Justin in the arm. It didn’t hurt at all…Fedor looked half-asleep, and the punch reflected it.
“Cheater.”
Justin rubbed at his eyes, and punched Fedor back…just as sleepily, if not more. “When did we say that it has to be a real word? And it might even be a real word, too…we just haven’t learned it yet…”
Armonia smiled as she scooped them up. “Okay, you two…time for…”
She jumped as the door crashed open with a bang that resounded off the walls; Justin and Fedor were nearly jarred out of her hands. Xithl dropped down through the hole, and slammed the door shut again.
“W…Welcome home, dear…what…?”
“I need to talk to you. Right now. Put them down for a minute.”
Fedor and Justin were wide awake, now. Dad didn’t get scared…he just didn’t…that had to be some other look on his face; there had to be some other reason that he was whispering in Mom’s ear. She looked confused, at first…but then the same look on Dad’s face came onto hers…
“No…” she whispered.
Dad kept whispering, too low for them to hear…
“Justin?” said Fedor.
“Shhh…” said Justin, straining his ears to hear.
“No…how did you…when?”
“Soon. Very soon…while all the young shinigami are sleeping, most likely…”
There was a long look between them.
“So…we…”
“Yes. We’re meeting in those tunnels I sometimes take Justin and Fedor to for writing practice, before we…”
Another long look…then Dad took Mom’s hand, and led her toward the twins.
“What’s going on, Dad?” Fedor asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Come on, you two…bedtime.”
Somehow, Justin knew that this wasn’t a time to argue…he didn’t complain as Dad picked him up, or when he was set in the basket beside Fedor and covered with the blanket.
“Now, boys…” said Dad, smiling. Justin was probably just imagining the note of worry behind his voice…he’d said himself that there was nothing to worry about. Even if there was something wrong…which there wasn’t, there couldn’t be…Dad could take care of it. He could take care of anything. “We might be gone for…a little while. There’s extra wood by the fire if it starts to get low, and there’s extra food by the fire, too…take care of each other. Keep writing in your death notes…while we’re gone, you two need to keep trying to kill humans. I want you to help Fedor with that, okay, Justin?”
It occurred to Justin to complain, but…
“Okay,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Mom bent over and wrapped one arm around each of them. “Listen to your father…take care of yourselves, and each other. We love you.”
“We love you too, Mom,” Fedor muttered.
Mom let go. Dad gave them another of those long looks, as though he was trying to memorize their faces…he patted them on their heads, and with that, they went down the stairs…the sound of a sliding door opening, then closing, echoed up the stairs…they were gone. Justin and Fedor stared after them for a long time…they couldn’t sleep, not with this eerie quiet that filled the darkness in the room…
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